| Shaun Murphy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 10 August 1982 , Harlow, England |
| Sport country |  English |
| Nickname | The Whiston Warrior The Magician |
| Professional | 1997– |
| Highest ranking | #3 (3 years) |
| 2009/10 ranking | #3 |
| Career winnings | UK£1,052,845[1] |
| Highest break | 147 (2001 Benson & Hedges Championship) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 3 |
| Non-ranking | 7 |
| World Champion | 2005 |
Shaun Murphy (born 10 August 1982, Harlow, England) is an English professional snooker player who was the 2008 UK Champion, and the 2005 World Champion.
Murphy is noted for his widely acclaimed cue action and his consistent long potting. He is one of the few players who can play with his left hand as well as his right.[2]
For the 2007-2008 season, Murphy was ranked at number three, his highest ever, and he retained this for the next two seasons. In 2007/2008 he reached at least the semi-finals of five ranking events, without winning any. After an unsuccessful start at the 2008/2009 season he won the UK Championship and reached the World Championship final.
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Shaun Murphy began playing snooker at the age of 8 when he was given a snooker cue that his father had bought from a jumble sale. He soon joined a club and practised heavily, making his first century break by the age of 10. At the age of 13, he gave an interview to the BBC, stating his ambitions of winning the World Championship and becoming world number one. Aged 13 he had already secured a £5,000-a-year sponsorship deal.[3] He turned professional at 15, this despite Lee Walker not being allowed to turn professional until becoming 16.
In 2000, he was awarded World Snooker Newcomer of the Year and Young Player of Distinction of the Year,[4] but his progress was gradual until his World Championship victory. In the same year, he won the Amateur English Open and the Benson & Hedges Championship, and made a maximum break in the next year's Benson & Hedges tournament. He reached the semi-finals of the British Open in 2004, his first run past the last 16 of a ranking event. He reached the Crucible in 2002 and 2003, losing 10-9 to Ken Doherty on the final black in the latter, and lost a qualifying match to Stuart Pettman in 2004.
During the 2005 World Championship, he beat former world champions John Higgins (13-8), Steve Davis (13-4), Peter Ebdon (17-12), and finalist Matthew Stevens (18-16) to win the World Championship.[3] His run echoed the first championship win of his childhood idol Davis, who also beat three world champions (Alex Higgins, Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths) to reach the final.
The tournament doubled his previous career prize money and his run to the final earned him the nickname Magician. He purchased a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a house with the proceeds of his win.[5]
At the age of 22, Murphy became the second youngest player ever to win the World Championship, following Stephen Hendry who first lifted the title when he was 21. He also became only the second-ever qualifier to win the World Championship, the other being Terry Griffiths in 1979.
Murphy began the 2005 World Championship ranked number 48 in the world rankings and with the odds of 150-1. He had to play two qualifying matches to reach the final stages. No previous world champion had played that many matches (seven in total) to lift the title.
He was ranked number 21 after his title win, which made him the first world champion to start the new season outside of the top 16. However, he qualified automatically for every tournament in the season as the number two seed (and number one seed for the 2006 World Championship). In the first three events of the season he reached the last 16, losing deciding-frame matches to Stuart Bingham, Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott respectively.[6] He was more successful at the Welsh Open, reaching the final before losing to Stephen Lee. In the 2006 World Championship, he fell victim to the "Crucible Curse" (no first-time champion ever successfully defending the title at the Crucible) when he was defeated in the quarter-finals 13-7 by Peter Ebdon, after victories over James Wattana and Steve Davis. His overall performances over the previous two seasons moved him up to number five in the world rankings.
After 22 months without a title, Murphy won the 2007 Malta Cup in February 2007, defeating Welshman Ryan Day by 9 frames to 4 in the final. In his very next match, against Jamie Cope in the Welsh Open, he scored centuries in four consecutive frames, becoming only the second player ever to do this (after John Higgins in the 2005 Grand Prix final) and the only person to do so in a best-of-nine match.[7] Murphy reached the semi-finals of the 2007 World Championship after a 13-12 victory over Matthew Stevens in the quarter-finals. Murphy came from 11-5 and 12-7 down to defeat Stevens, knocking the latter out of the top 16 in doing so.[8] However, he lost to Mark Selby in the semi-finals in another deciding frame. He ended the season ranked number three, his highest ever ranking.
In the 2007 Grand Prix, he won four out of five matches in his group, only losing out to Marco Fu, before defeating Ryan Day and Peter Ebdon to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 6-5 to Ronnie O'Sullivan, despite being 2-5 up at one point. He reached the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Trophy and the UK Championship, making it three consecutive semi-final appearances and four of the last five. Before the UK Championship, he was provisionally ranked number one.
Murphy successfully defended his Malta Cup title in 2008, defeating Irishman Ken Doherty 9-3 in the final (the 2008 event, however, was not a ranking event).
At the 2008 World Championship he lost heavily to Ali Carter in the second round. On the five occasions Murphy has been defeated at the Crucible Theatre, his conqueror has always gone on to lose the World Championship final.
He did win the non-ranking Paul Hunter Classic, beating Barry Pinches, Stuart Bingham, Ricky Walden and Mark Selby.
However he has made a sluggish start to the 2008/2009 Snooker Season, losing in the first round of the first three events despite outpointing Adrian Gunnell in their match at the Grand Prix.
Murphy claimed his 3rd ranking event title in December 2008 by defeating Hong Kong's Marco Fu by 10 frames to 9 in a classic final to join Steve Davis, Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths, John Parrott, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Peter Ebdon who have won both the World title and the UK Championship title, cementing his place as one of the elite top players in the world.
At the 2009 World Championship, Murphy reached the final but was soundly beaten 18-9 by the now 3 times world champion John Higgins.[9]
Murphy successfully defended his Paul Hunter Classic title in 2009, defeating fellow Englishman Jimmy White 4-0 in the final.[10]
In November 2009, Murphy won the 2009 Premier League Snooker title with 7-3 win against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.[11]
| Ranking Tournaments | 1997/ 98 |
1998/ 99 |
1999/ 00 |
2000/ 01 |
2001/ 02 |
2002/ 03 |
2003/ 04 |
2004/ 05 |
2005/ 06 |
2006/ 07 |
2007/ 08 |
2008/ 09 |
2009/ 10 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Masters | Not Held | 1R | 1R | SF | ||||||||||||
| Grand Prix/LG Cup | Lost in Qualifying Draw | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | ||||||||
| UK Championship | Lost in Qualifying Draw | 3R | 2R | SF | W | 2R | ||||||||||
| Welsh Open | Lost in Qualifying Draw | F | QF | SF | QF | 1R | ||||||||||
| China Open | A (NR) | Lost in Qualifying Draw | Not Held | LQ | 1R | QF | F | QF | ||||||||
| World Snooker Championship | Lost in Qualifying Draw | 1R | 1R | LQ | W | QF | SF | 2R | F | |||||||
| Non-Ranking Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | Did Not Participate | QF | QF | QF | 1R | QF | ||||||||||
| Premier League | Did Not Participate | RR | A | A | A | W | ||||||||||
| Former Ranking Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open | Lost in Qualifying Draw | 1R | 2R | Not Held | ||||||||||||
| British Open | Lost in Qualifying Draw | 2R | SF | Not Held | ||||||||||||
| European Open/Irish Open/Malta Cup | NH | LQ | Not Held | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 2R | W | NR | Not Hold | |||||
| Northern Ireland Trophy | Not Held | NR | QF | SF | 2R | NH | ||||||||||
| Bahrain Championship | Not Held | 1R | NH | |||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NH | tournament not held in that calendar year | A | did not participate in the tournament |
| LQ | lost in qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (RR = round robin) |
| QF | advanced to but not past the quarterfinals | SF | advanced to but not past the semifinals |
| F | advanced to the final, tournament runner-up | W | won the tournament |
| NR | means the event offered no rankings points for that season. | |||
Murphy was coached by Steve Prest, who helped Murphy perfect his cue action and develop the tactical side of his game. Murphy was coached early on in his career by Joe Johnson, another surprise winner of the World Championship. He has also received tactical guidance from Ray Reardon.
Murphy has a rivalry with Stephen Maguire, another member of the 2000 Young Players of Distinction. In a 2004 Grand Prix match, Murphy was involved in having one of Maguire's frames forfeited. As the match was about to begin, Maguire realised he had forgotten to bring his chalk with him. He asked referee Johan Oomen for permission to leave the arena.[12] While Maguire was away, Murphy spoke to the referee; the tournament director Mike Ganley was summoned and he docked Maguire a frame for not being ready to start at the scheduled time.[13] Maguire later won the match 5-2. After beating Murphy in the 2007 Welsh Open, Maguire said of the incident, "That put the icing on the cake, but we've always had a rivalry. I dislike him and I think he dislikes me. I try hard to beat everyone, but it would have hurt more if I'd lost to him."[13] Before their 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy semi-final clash, Murphy commented that the media had exaggerated the rift, commenting that "It might add spice for you (the media), but I said hello to Stephen in the practice room this morning. He's a fantastic player and I've got great respect for him. I'm willing to get on with him and if there's a problem it's not at my end".[14] They played each other again at the next tournament, the UK Championship, once more at the semi-final stage, which Maguire won as well. And in the final of the 2008 China Open Maguire defeated him once again, but this time only in a final frame decider: 10-9. Murphy gained revenge by defeating Maguire at The 2008 UK Championships Semi-Finals: 9-4.
Murphy was born in Harlow, but has lived in Rotherham for much of his career. He is a devout Christian and prays in his dressing room before every match.[3] Murphy is a keen ping-pongist and single-figure handicap golfer.[15]
He met his wife Clare on an online Christian chat room,[16] and they spent some of the summer of 2006 doing work for a Christian charity group in Zimbabwe.[2]. However they separated in October 2008 after 3 years of marriage[17]. An interview with Murphy's ex-girlfriend, Abigayle Tadeo, revealed the two had had sex in a Kettering hotel room shortly after he left Clare. Tadeo claimed Murphy had been sending her sexual text messages and pictures of himself for months prior to leaving his wife.[18] There were concerns that Murphy's estranged wife would serve him divorce papers during play of his first round 2009 World Championship match, however this did not happen.[19]
During the 2007 World Championship it was reported in some newspapers that he had developed a rift with his father, Tony, who is a member of the World Snooker board.[20][21] He revealed that this happened 18 months earlier and that they had not spoken since. He did, however, state on BBC snooker coverage that he would happily speak to his father again if he was called.[21]
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   | Evening Telegraph - Snooker star Murphy splits from wife - Northants ET |
| | Snooker Champion Shares His Faith - Snooker Champion Shares His Faith: Shaun Murphy a 150/1 outsider |
| | Shaun Murphy's official website - Shaun Murphy | 2005 World Snooker Champion | Exhibition Matches | After Dinner Speaking | Product Endorsement |
| | Champ's anguish at rift with dad - Champ's anguish at rift with dad - The Star |
| | Higginson Revelling in Spotlight - HIGGINSON REVELLING IN SPOTLIGHT | Sporting Life - Snooker News | Beijing International Challenge, John Higgins, Scores, Results |
| | Williams crashes out - BBC SPORT | Other Sport | Snooker | Williams crashes out |
| | Distracted Murphy beats Higginson - BBC SPORT | Other sport... | Snooker | Distracted Murphy beats Higginson |
| | Magic Murphy sets century record - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Magic Murphy sets century record |
| | Murphy's rise to the world summit - BBC SPORT | Other Sport | Snooker | Murphy's rise to the world summit |
| | Murphy Edges Through - Ananova - Murphy edges through |
| | BBC 2005 World Snooker Championship coverage - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | World Snooker 2005 |
| | Murphy: Now for the No1 spot - - The Scotsman |
| | Shaun Murphy - Did you know...? - BBC SPORT | Other Sport | Snooker | Shaun Murphy - Did you know...? |
| | Player Profile at Pro Snooker Blog - Shaun Murphy « Pro Snooker Blog |
| | Murphy fightback shocks Stevens - BBC SPORT | Other Sport... | Snooker | Murphy fightback shocks Stevens |
| | Higgins earns third world crown - BBC SPORT | Other sport... | Snooker | Higgins earns third world crown |
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